Feds Reanimate the Janet Reno–Era “Domestic Terrorism Executive Committee”

Attorney General Eric Holder has made
an announcement:

[T]he threat posed by Islamic extremist satellite
groups—from al Qaeda affiliates in Yemen, to al-Shabaab in
Somalia—and individuals inspired by their violent ideology remains
a significant concern. We must remain vigilant against this threat
both here and around the world.

But we also must concern ourselves with the
continued danger we face from individuals within our own borders
who may be motivated by a variety of other causes from
anti-government animus to racial prejudice. To that end, I am
announcing today that the Department of Justice is reconstituting a
committee on domestic terrorism that was first established nearly
20 years ago under my predecessor, Attorney General Janet Reno, in
the aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing….The revived
group—known as the Domestic Terrorism Executive Committee—will be
comprised of leaders from components within the Department of
Justice, and co-chaired by a member of the U.S. Attorney community,
the National Security Division, and the FBI.

This committee will coordinate closely with U.S. Attorneys and
other key public safety officials across the country to promote
information-sharing and ensure an effective, responsive, and
organized joint effort.

Contrary to at least one early
report, the revived committee’s purview will not include
incidents like last year’s Boston Marathon bombing, since the men
accused of that crime appear to have been influenced by foreign
groups. The focus will be on purely homegrown activities, according
to a spokesman for the Justice Department.

In other words, Washington’s terror-hunting apparatus intends to
focus more attention on the domestic front. What exactly that will
mean in practice remains to be seen, but civil libertarians are
wary. Gabriel Rottman, the American Civil Liberties Union’s
legislative counsel on the First Amendment, has already condemned
the committee. “Given the already lenient standards for when the
government can launch an investigation,” he tells me, “the
announced task force is both unnecessary and an invitation to
investigate Americans because of the beliefs they hold, not because
of any wrongdoing.”